Westbrook reaches triple ton, Raptors recover

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Thursday, March 15, 2018

Westbrook reaches triple ton, Raptors recover

Thunder star joins exclusive club of triple-double centurions

LOS ANGELES: Russell Westbrook snared the 100th bounced back from Monday's mauling at the hands of

triple-double of his career on Tuesday as the Oklahoma Houston with a 108-72 blowout over the Orlando

City Thunder closed in on a playoff berth with a 119- Magic. LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the starting

107 defeat of the Atlanta Hawks.

line-up for San Antonio and duly delivered with 24

Westbrook finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds and points. Aldridge was one of six Spurs to make double

12 assists to become only the fourth player in NBA figures, helping the franchise improve to 38-30 for the

history to record a centu-

season.

ry of triples. The 29-year-

San Antonio, who are

old Thunder star joins

awaiting the return of

Oscar Robertson (181),

Kawhi Leonard from injury,

Magic Johnson (138) and Jason Kidd (107) as the

Spurs bounce are battling to avoid failing to reach the playoffs for the

latest member of the exclusive club of triple-

back with a win first time since 1996-1997. Two of the Spurs veterans,

double centurions. Reigning NBA MVP

over Orlando Tony Parker and Pau Gasol, both rallied to the cause on

Westbrook had already

Tuesday with 10 and 11

claimed Robertson's sin-

points off the bench.

gle-season triple-double

Spurs coach Gregg

record last year, with 42.

Popovich saluted his side's

"It's a blessing man, I give

hard-nosed defensive dis-

all thanks to the man above for the ability to play bas- play as integral to the win. "The defense really set the

ketball," Westbrook said afterward when asked about tone," Popovich told reporters. "People guarded their

his milestone.

men and took pride in it and the rest of the team fol-

"I'm just thankful to be able to do it here in lowed through. It kind of fuelled the offense a little bit."

Oklahoma City with my team-mates, happy to be able Popovich believes the Spurs defense could ultimately

to accomplish something like that," he added. define the remainder of their season. "We're not going

Westbrook led the scoring on Tuesday, with Carmelo to score on some nights so the defense has to sustain

Anthony adding 21 points and Jerami Grant contribut- us," he said. In the Eastern Conference, meanwhile,

ing 20 off the bench as the Thunder improved to 41-29. leaders Toronto were forced to dig themselves out of a

Oklahoma City are fourth in the Western Conference hole before recovering to seal a ninth straight win in

standings, two wins ahead of the fifth-placed New their 116-102 defeat of the Brooklyn Nets.

Orleans Pelicans. Although not mathematically certain Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors' rearguard action

of a place in the postseason, only a major collapse is with 26 points and 14 rebounds, helping Toronto recov-

likely to deny the Thunder a playoff berth.

er from a 74-59 deficit early in the second half to claim

a win which saw them seal their 50th win of the season.

SPURS BOUNCE BACK

DeMar DeRozan and Fred VanVleet scored 15 points

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs each while Kyle Lowry had a relatively quiet night with

ATLANTA: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. -- AFP

11 points and 11 assists. D'Angelo Russell led the scoring for the Nets with 32 points with Rondae HollisJefferson adding 19 from the bench.

In Phoenix, LeBron James scored his 14th tripledouble of the season-a career high-as the Cleveland Cavaliers demolished the Suns 129-107. The Cavs

improved to 39-28 to remain in fourth spot in the East, behind Toronto, Boston and Indiana.

James meanwhile lit up the victory with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists on a night when seven Cleveland players posted double-digit scores, including Jordan Clarkson, with 23 off the bench. -- AFP

Al-Qadisiya

basketball team

defeat Kuwait

By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Al-Qadisiya basketball team defeated Kuwait team by the score of 82-75 in their match that was held Tuesday at Kuwait Club hall, to conclude the first half of the basketball league.

Al-Jahra defeated Al-Nasser 84-65. This makes AlQadisya on top with 10 points while Kuwait has 9 points followed by Jahra 8, Kazima 7, Araby 6 and Nasser 5.

The Qadisiya and Kuwait match was very strong since it started, as Kuwait was in control and reached the score of 14-6 as players were highly focused and their attacks were highly organized, and Qadisiya players were hasty and squandered several opportunities, though the difference was reduced as the first quarter ended with the score of 16-13.

Then in the second quarter Al-Qadisiya turned the tide through its player Nasser Al-Hajras and was scoring from under the basket, while Saleh Al-Yousuf was scoring from outside, and the quarter ended with 32-29.

The third quarter saw Al-Qadisiya succeed in raising the difference to 7 points rebounding from under the basket by Ahmad Darweesh, Saleh Yousuf and Abdelrahman Al-Sahou, then Kuwait tied the score 39-39 through the moves of its players Hussein Al-Khabbaz and Abdallah Al-Shimmari, yet Al-Qadisiya was able to end the third quarter by the score of 53-46.

Excitement characterized the fourth quarter as Kuwait took the initiative and exchanged leads until Al-Qadisiya made the score 66-63 with 16 seconds remaining, only to have Kuwait tie the score by a three pointer by Fahad AlDhafiri. The teams resorted to overtime, and this was controlled by Qadisiya and ended the match with the score of 82-75.

Winners Al-Qadisiya basketball team

Kuwaiti women take on sea with `far out' wakeboard skills

KUWAIT: Wakeboarding is one of the most demanding marine sports that requires some "gnarly" skills to overcome the unpredictable nature of the sea. With their "far out" attitude and unwavering determination, Kuwaiti women wakeboarders had taken on the challenge to show people that their country has the asset to compete against the world's top athletes.

In an interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), member of (Q8 Balance) wakeboard team Shaikha AlNouri attributed her passion to her late father who always encouraged her to take up sports when she was young.

In 2009, the Kuwaiti athlete got interested in wakeboarding and by 2010, Al-Nouri began to compete and win local tournaments.

Al-Nouri said that she was currently the only senior female team member in Q8 Balance; however, she was undeterred from continuing on her path to glory. She affirmed that her teammates had always encouraged her to continue pursuing her passion.

Most recently, Kuwaiti women had been showing increasing interest in wakeboarding and in fact, more cadets are joining the team so far, said Al-Nouri.

On their part, wakeboarders Janna Al-Nsef and Mariam Al-Sabah-who joined the team in 2014 and 2016

Queen of Wake Abu Dhabi National Championship (2017). Gold medal winner.

respectively-were inspired to take up wakeboarding after the reputation of the team grew exponentially.

Despite a number of difficulties, both athletes expressed their desires to compete and win in upcoming wakeboard

tournaments, stressing that nothing was impossible with hard training and a gung-ho attitude. The all-Kuwaiti wakeboard team was established in 2008 while the Q8 Balance squad was founded in 2011. -- KUNA

Folau undecided

on Wallabies

future ahead of

World Cup

MELBOURNE: Wallabies fullback Israel Folau is undecided on whether he will commit to Michael Cheika's team next year, despite the lure of a second World Cup appearance in Japan. The dual code international is out of contract at the end of the 2018 season and said he would not rush into a decision on his playing future.

"Look, (the World Cup) is something I enjoyed last time around. But, in saying that, there's plenty of options on the line and, when that time comes, I'll make a decision when I'm ready," Folau told local media yesterday.

"There's no rush. I want to make sure everything is set in position and I feel comfortable and I'll come out and make that announcement." The loss of the explosive 28-year-old, who made his name in rugby league, would be a blow for Australia's hopes of winning a third World Cup, four years after reaching the final in England.

It would also be a huge setback for governing body Rugby Australia, which has worked hard to retain its highest profile player in the 15-man code since 2013. Folau started his stellar sporting career in Australia's National Rugby League as a 17-year-old for Melbourne Storm and became the country's youngest international in the 13-man game at 18 when he debuted for the Kangaroos in the same year.

His comments are likely to fan speculation that he is set for a return to NRL but the Wallabies back would also generate huge interest from cashed-up rugby union clubs in Europe and Japan.

The 62-test back told local media last year that he missed playing in the NRL's annual `State of Origin' series between Queensland and New South Wales and that a return to league was a case of `never say never'.

Folau scored 12 tries for the Wallabies last year despite being rested for the season-ending tour of the northern hemisphere and was awarded an unprecedented third John Eales medal as the country's top rugby union player.

The New South Wales Waratah said he was looking to improve on his stellar 2017. "I feel really good. Physically, my body's in good shape and I feel good and I feel mentally good as well," he said ahead of the Waratahs' Super Rugby clash against the Melbourne Rebels on Sunday.

"I just feel like I'm happy with parts of my game but certainly I'm never satisfied fully. I'm always wanting to get better." -- Reuters

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